Hotelising of the kiwi bach

Maturing holiday home market sees 'hotelising' of the kiwi bach

Growing expectations of the holiday home rental market has led to a ‘hotelising’ of the Kiwi Bach.

Holiday home management company Bachcare has rapidly expanded in the last six months as owner operators and small holiday home management companies turn to a national company to help them meet maturing guest expectations.

Leslie Preston, Founder of Bachcare says as a result of the change in expectations of guests, particularly international visitors booking online, there has been a maturing in the way the sector markets itself as well as how holiday homes are managed and presented.

“Renting a holiday home is no longer considered an alternative accommodation option and now sits quite comfortably alongside hotels, motels and apartments when guests are considering their accommodation options. Guests look at the whole accommodation offering in a region and then choose what works best for them.”

“Increasingly we have holiday home owners, who have managed the rental of their property themselves, turning to Bachcare to do this for them as it’s become a full-time job and that takes the gloss off actually owning and enjoying their holiday home.”

In the last year Bachcare’s revenue has increased by a third as individual owners seek professional support. Ms Preston says Bachcare has also acquired a number of small holiday home management companies.

“In the last 6 months we have also purchased four regional holiday home management companies. Smaller operators are finding it’s getting more difficult to operate in a resource and compliance heavy environment, as well as, providing the levels of online technology that guests and online travel agents (OTAs) have come to expect.”

”Bachcare has the scale to manage this but we often find that the founders of these businesses stay on with Bachcare as one of our local holiday home managers which is a win/win for all of us.”

Bachcare recently added to its portfolio of almost 2,000 properties by acquiring a holiday home management company in Te Anau and this prompted the launch of Bachcare Fiordland which has 14 holiday homes.

Another 42 Christchurch properties have also moved over to Bachcare from Britten Properties which was owned by Isabelle Weston, daughter of the Britten V1000 motorcycle inventor, the late John Britten.

“Through these latest purchases we have grown quickly but we are also responding to requests from holiday homes owners who want the Bachcare service in their town or region. As a result of owner demand, we have launched in Dunedin, Karitane and Clyde and also in Piha.”

In the Far North, the purchase of two property management companies makes Bachcare the largest holiday home management company in the region with 65 properties.

“Both of the Far North founders Davina Bennett of Days in the Bay and Rochelle Chapman of Far North Holiday Homes have stayed on with Bachcare meaning they get to keep doing what they love best about the job, looking after the owners and guests.”

“This sort of continuity is really important as we grow as it means we can continue to deliver the level of service Bachcare is known for. The critical factor in this is a great team of local holiday home managers located throughout the country who take care of all guest and owner needs.”

“For guests, it’s the peace of mind that there is someone at the end of the phone to call if they need anything and for owners it’s knowing that their property is being well looked after.”

“It’s a significant commitment for owners to make their holiday homes available to complete strangers. These homes have a lot of sentimental value attached to them and many happy memories. We are grateful they are prepared to share these properties so others can make the same kind of memories.”

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